Every day in the United States, an estimated 10,000 babies are born, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While infant abduction doesn’t happen often, even one time is too many.

In addition, ensuring the right baby stays with the right mother and preventing mismatches between mother and baby is vital.

That’s why a partnership led by CommonSpirit Health’s IT Cybersecurity team is working together with GuardRFID™ to standardize and upgrade the tools we use to keep our most vulnerable patients safe.

Key to the success of this initiative is the implementation of the GuardRFID TotGuard^® infant security monitoring system.

Cybersecurity led the way in identifying and implementing TotGuard, working in collaboration with Womens Health Service Line, Physical Security, Facility Management and others to find a system that would best provide the ease, efficiency and effectiveness our care teams needed.

“TotGuard empowers our facilities through technology,” says Andrew Opland, System Manager, IT Cybersecurity. “It allows our care teams to secure, track and safeguard the most vulnerable patients — these little babies. The system provides peace of mind to both the mother and to our care teams.”

TotGuard uses RFID technology to prevent an infant from leaving the identified secure area, while also alarming if the infant is brought to the wrong mother. The system also has tamper prevention capabilities.

“We recognize that our care teams do an amazing job, but the fact is that babies are constantly being moved through the unit for various reasons and we needed a system that could ensure their safety while also making the job easier for our care teams,” says Jacquie Jones, Program Manager, IT Cybersecurity. “We want to help lighten the workload for our nurses and TotGuard augments their ability to visually manage infant security, through automation.”

Implementing one infant security solution across the ministry also brings with it several benefits.

“This standardization allows for the development of uniform procedures and protocols across all facilities,” says Mindy Foster, System Vice President, Women and Infants Clinical Institute. “That reduces the risk of errors or lapses, as well as streamlining processes such as staff education, maintenance and technical support. Bulk purchasing has also provided cost efficiencies that would not have been realized with individual facility purchases or system upgrades.”

For the IT team, the standardization enables them to deliver on their promise to the care teams of zero downtime.

“By implementing this system as the standard throughout the ministry, we have more control and we can reduce the vulnerability,” Andrew explains.

For Mindy and her teams throughout the ministry, the partnership with IT has been an effective collaboration.

“From the planning phase all the way through each individual installation, and continuing engagement with system maintenance, the IT team are invaluable partners,” Mindy says.

Being a part of implementing these safeguards across the ministry is meaningful – and personal – to the IT team as well.

“I’ve got five kids so I take this issue very personally,” Andrew says. “Our team understands that if there is a code pink in a hospital, every team member in that hospital is on high alert and it’s all hands on deck. And what’s cool about this technology is that for us in the IT world, we get to be a part of that too. We are all hands on deck for you, too.”

To learn more about TotGuard and see it in action in one of our CommonSpirit Health facilities, watch this “Vitals: The Human Side of Cyber” video.